Man convicted of killing Dallas-area police officer in 2002 set for execution

HUNTSVILLE, Texas – A Texas prisoner on death row for the fatal shooting of a Dallas-area police officer outside a convenience store is headed for execution.

No last-day appeals were in the courts to try to keep 42-year-old Kent Sprouse from lethal injection Thursday evening in Huntsville.

The U.S. Supreme Court in November refused to review his case.

Medical tests showed the Boone County, Missouri, native had taken illegal drugs within 48 hours of the October 2002 shootings of Ferris Police Officer Marty Steinfeldt. The 28-year-old patrolman came under fire as he responded to a 911 call to a shooting outside the Ferris Food Mart, about 20 miles south of Dallas.

Sprouse also was charged but not tried for 38-year-old Pedro Moreno's death. He was nearby pumping gas when he was fatally shot.